Pedestal for school chairs and desks



July 7. 1925. 1,545,115

E. C. AMSDEN PEDESTAL FOR SCHOOL CHAIRS AND DESKS Fed April' 14, 1924 I fig',

li (l Patented July 7, i925.

Unirse Arl . EUGENE o. Antenna, on nosron, raassacnnsnrrs, assrenon fro errantes o. Kenner,

0E' WESTON, M

SACHUSETTS.

EEDESTAL SCHOOL CHI-ERS AND DESKS.

Application filed April 14, 1924. Serial No. 796,372.

T0 all whom t may conce/ra.'

` Be it known that l, Etienne C. AMsDnN,

a Citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Pedestals for School Chairs and Desks, 'of which the following is a specification.

' lThe invention to be hereinafter `described relates to pedestals for supporting school chairs, desks and the like.

It is desirable to'vary the elevation of the chair or desk in order that-it may be adapted to the size of the person using the same. The aim and purpose of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a simple and eiiicientpedestal for this purpose.

In carrying the invention into practical effect, a pedestal is provided comprising a pair of members, one adapte-d to rest upon the `floor, and the other having means for supporting the chair or desk and adapted for adjustment longitudinally with respect to the floor member. One of the members is eXpansible transversely thereof, and simplel andefiicient means is provided for adjusting the expansible member into secure grippingrelation with lthe other member.

lf the aforesaid securingv lmeansl should become released, it is desirable that the supporting member .shall not drop a substantial distance. Therefore, means is also provided for automatically checking thel drop of the ,supporting member in respect to the floor `member on release of the securing means.

The' character of the invention may be best understood by reference to the following description of one good form thereof shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein: i

. Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a pedestal embodying'the invention, and in the presentinstance supporting a chair;

`Fig. 2 on an enlarged scale is a vertical section through the pedestal;

Fig. 3 is a plan of the post, a portion thereof being broken away;

Fig. l is 'a horizontal section taken on yline le-4 of Fig. 2; f Fig. "5 is an elevation of the support member;

F ig..6 is a front face view of the wedge member; Fig. 7 is an en' lshownin F ig.A 6;

adjustable' d view of the member Fig. 8 is a horizontal section taken on line 8-8 of Fig. 9;

Fig. 9 is al vertical section of a modified form of construction in which the post is. provided with a cap 3' and Fig. l() is a sectional detail showing the interlocking relation of thecap with the wedge member.

Referring to the drawing, the pedestal shown therein as one good form of the in=l vention, comprises a hollow post l having a cylindrical portion 2 and downwardly flared portion 3 with an outstanding flange 5 projecting'therefrom provided withholes 7 at intervals adapted to receive screws for .securing the post to the floor. Thispost may be formed of sheet steel or other suitable material. rlhe cylindrical portion 2 and the flared portion 3 may be formed from separate pieces `which may be welded to` gether. y

rl`elescoping with the post, and in the present instance, .projecting therein, is a'sleeve 9 having at the upper end thereof a support, v in the present instance, in the form of a dished plate ll having an extruded portion 13 fitted into the sleeve, and welded orotherwise secured thereto. vdj acent the periphery of the dished plate are countersunk portions l5 adapted to receive screws for securing the chair orV desk to the dished plate. rl`he sleeve and dished plate may be y formed of sheet steel or other vsuitable material. g

|The sleeve has a slot 17 extending longitudinally thereof, and the marginal portions of the sleeve adjacent the slotv are reversely bent and welded or otherwise secured to the body of the sleeve to provide a pair of strong jaws i9, as will be noted in Fig. 4. The edges of the jaws diverge with relation to each other toward the center of the sleeve.

Suitable means may be provided for eX- panding the sleeve into secure gripping enfgagement with the inner surface of the post., rlhis means, in the present instance of the invention, comprises a wedge member or ele- 'i A ,105* ch thatl after the* rsleeve will be securely held in thepost.

'therefrom and thisV member in between the jaws '19 so as to eX- pandthe sleeve circumferentially into secure frictional gripping relation with the inner surface of the post. j

If the screw bolt is properly adjusted, tl is desirable that means may be provided automatically to check downward movement of the sleeve in case the screw bolt should not be properly tightened. To accomplish this, in the present instance of the invention, the sleeve slot 17 is tapered upwardly, and the wedge member 21 is tapered upwardly longitudinally thereof. The consequence is that if the sleeve should not be expanded into tight gripping engagement with the post, downward movement of the sleeve will' be checked by longitudinal wedging of tlieV tapered member 2l in the tapered slot 17. Slight downward' movement of the sleeve from any of its elevations will cause expansion thereof into secure gripping relation with vthe post. Thus, a person seated in the' chaiiwill be relieved from shock which otherwise would be experienced on dropping of the dished plate down into engagement with the upper end of the post.

By forming the member 2l with a transverse taper and a longitudinal taper, and forming Athe sleeve slot 17 with a longitudinal taper, simple and eiiicient means is provided for expanding the sleeve into secure gripping relation Ywith* the post either by manual adjustment of the screw bolt, or

automatically on lrelease of the screw bolt."

The pedestal is shownl herein as Vsupporting a chair 29, butit may Vbe'f'eniployed to support a school desk if desired.

AThe means for securing the sleeve to theV post of the'pcdestal is contained within the sleeve with the exception of the inconspicuous head of the screw bolt. Thus, a pedestal is provided which has a neat appearance.

Since the post has a substantial diameter, and the sleeve and post have portions of substantial length in telescopic engagement, they present ample surfaces for gripping relation which will be effective in securely holding the sleeve in its positions of adjustment when the sleeve is circumferentially expanded by means of the wedge member in the sleeve slot.

Under some circumstances it may be desirable to provide means to prevent paper orV other materials from being slipped through the sleeve slot into the post. Referring to the modification shown in Figs. 8, 9 and-l0, i

in the present instance, this means is in the form of a can 29- connected to the post by a neck 31.

than the post, leaving an annular space 33 through which the sleeve may `project. The neck extends through the sleeve slot. TheA neck may be strengthened by a rib 35 pressed rib may project into This cap is somewhat smallerv notch 37 in the upper end of the wedge member 2l to prevent the latter from rocking out of line with the sleeve slot.

It will be understood that the invention not limited to the specific embodimentV shown, and that various deviations may bel made therefrom without departing from the spirit and scope of the appended claims. ll hat is claimed is l. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combina-tion, al pair of telescoping members, one having a base adapted to rest on the tloor andthe other being Vwdjustable longitudinally thereof and having a top adapted to serve as a support, one of said members having a longitudinal slot therein, an element entered between and for engagement with edges of the. slotted member at said slot, and adjustable meansl for causing said element to act on and pre Said slotted member at said slot, and a. bolt forV adjusting said wedge elementv transversely to the axis of the sleeve member to cause saiddiverging faces topress said edges away from each other in a circumferential direction and'thereby expand the'slotted member uniformly throughout the circumference thereof into tight Vrictional.` engagement with the other member. Y

3. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a. hollow having a base adapted to rest on the oor, a sleeve in said post having a tapered longitudinal slot therein, said sleeve being vertically adjustable'in said post, a wedge member entered into the sleeve slot, and a screw boltr on the post for adjusting the wedge member to expand the sleeve into gripping relation with the inner surface of the post, said slot and member being operable automatically to check downward movement of the sleeve in the post on loosening of the screw bolt. i

4. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post4 `havinga base adapted to rest on the floor, a

sleeve in said post having means at the top thereof adapted for supporting a chair, Said sleeve having a longitudinal slot therein permitting expansion and contraction'of the by ;the post'forftorcing the wedge member between .said jaws'thereby Vto `expand the :sleeve into secure gripping ,engagement with theiinnersurface ofthe post. y 1

I5., A pedestal of the character described Ycomprising,'in combination, a hollow post having a basel adapted to resten the floor, a sleeve in the post having means atthe top thereotfor supporting achair, said sleeve having. a longitudinally tapered slot permitting expansion and contraction of the sleeve, a member entered into said slot and tapered transverselyandlongitudinally, and a screw bolt on the post for causing said member to expand the sleeve into tight gripping relation with the post, the longitudinal taper of the member and the taper of the slot cooperating automatically to check downward movement of the sleeve on release of the screw bolt. Y

6. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post adapted to rest upon the floor, a supporting sleeve in the post having a tapered longi-v tudinal slot, and a member carried by the post and entered into the slot, said member and slot being operable automatically to expand the sleeve into secure gripping rela-l tion with the hollow post on slight downward movement of the sleeve in the post.

7. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a pair cit members, one adapted to rest upon the -floor and the other adapted to support a chair, one of said members being expansible and having a tapered longitudinal slot, and an element on the other member entered into the slot and adapted automatically to expand the slotted member into secure gripping relation with the other member on slight downward movement of the support member.

8. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post, an eXpansible sleeve in the post having a longitudinal slot therein, said post having a cap at the upper end thereof connected to the post by a neck projecting through the slot, a wedge member in the post entered into the sleeve slot, and a bolt on the post projecting through the slot into the wedge member for pressing the latter in the slot to expand the sleeve into secure gripping engagement with the inner surface of the post.

9. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post, an eXpansible sleeve in the post having a longitudinal slot therein, said post having a cap at the upper end thereof connected to the post by a neck projecting through the slot, a wedge member in the post entered into the sleeve slot, and a bolt on the post projecting through the slot into the wedge member for pressing the latter in the slot to kexpand the sleeve into secure gripping` engagement withfthefinner surface of the post, said neck having a rib projecting downward therefrom, and said wedge mem# ber having a notch receiving the rib :to prevent the wedge member from rocking out of line with the slot.

10. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post, an yexpansible sleeve in the post having a longitudinal slot therein, means co-operating with said slot tov expand the sleeve circuniiierentially into secure gripping engage ment with the inner surface of the post, and a cap in the sleeve having a neck projecting from the cap through the sleeve slot to the upper end of the post thereby to prevent materials from passing through the sleeve slot down into the post.

11. A pedestal of the character described comprising, in combination, a hollow post, an expansible sleeve in the post having a longitudinal slot therein, a wedge member in the post entered into the sleeve slot, a bolt on the post projecting through the slot into the wedge member for pressing the latter in the slot to expand the sleeve into secure gripping engagement with the inner surface of the post, and a cap in the sleeve and carried by the upper end o1 the post for preventing materials rom passing through the sleeve slot down into the post, said cap and wedge member being formed to prevent rocking of the wedge member on the bolt.

12. A pedestal oit the character described comprising, in combination, a pair of telescoping tubular members, one adapted to rest upon the iioor and the other having a support, adjustable means cooperating with the telescoping members to hold the support member at different elevations in respect to the other member, and means by which the support member will, on release of the adjusting means, be arrested automatically after slight downward movement from any of its elevations.

13. A support 'for school chairs, desks or the like comprising two mutually telescoping tubular metal members, the outer member being provided with a hole adapted to receive the shank of a bolt, the inner member having a vertical slot and having the metal at the edges of said slot turned inward and backward to form a wedge shaped opening, a wedge, and a bolt in said hole for drawing said wedge into said opening to expand said inner member into gripping engagement with said outer member.

14E. A support for school chairs, desks or the like comprising two mutually telescoping tubular metal members, the outer member being provided with a hole adapted to receive the shank of a bolt, the inner member having a vertical slot, the edges of said slot being divergent with relation to each shaped opening, a wedge, and a bolt in said Y ber.

other towards the center ofV saidmember to" form a wedge shaped opening, a wedge, anda bolt in said hole for drawing said wedge into said 4Vopening to expand said inner memreceive the shank of a bolt, the inner mem--V ber having a vertical upwardly narrowing tapered slot, the edges of said slot being divergent with relation to each other towards the center of said member to form a wedge hole forV holding said wedge in said opening. 16. A support for school chairs, desksor the like comprising two mutually teleecopk ing tubular members, the outer member being provided with a hole adapted to receive the shank of a bolt, the inner member having a vertical npwardlyinarrowing tapered slot, a wedge adapted to force the edges said slot apart and a bolt in said hole to hold said Wedge from vertical movement where the drawing of said wedge into said slot wi l Y expand said inner member to rmly said outer member. Y

EUGENE o. AMSDEN. 

